To weave a garland for the rose,
And think thus crown'd 'twould lovelier be,
Were far less vain than to suppose
That silks and gems add grace to thee.
- Songs from the Greek Anthology--To Weave a Garland
[Beauty]

So Life's year begins and closes;
Days, though short'ning, still can shine;
What though youth gave love and roses,
Age still leaves us friends and wine.
- Spring and Autumn [Age]

I reflected how soon in the cup of desire
The pearl of the soul may be melted away;
How quickly, alas, the pure sparkle of fire
We inherit from heaven, may be quenched in the clay.
- Stanzas--A Beam of Tranquility [Soul]

Sometimes, when on the Alpine rose
The golden sunset leaves its ray,
So like a gem the flow'ret glows,
We thither bend our headlong way;
And though we find no treasure there,
We bless the rose that shines so fair.
- The Crystal-Hunters [Roses]

Who has not felt how sadly sweet
The dream of home, the dream of home,
Steals o'er the heart, too soon to fleet,
When far o'er sea or land we roam?
- The Dream of Home [Home]

I never nurs'd a dear gazelle,
To glad me with its soft black eye,
But when it came to know me well
And love me, it was sure to die.
- The Fire Worshippers [Gazelles]

Though an angel should write, still 'tis devils must print.
- The Fudge Family in England (letter III)
[Printing]

Good-bye--my paper's out so nearly,
I've only room for, Yours sincerely.
- The Fudge Family in Paris (letter VI)
[Post]

This new rage for rhyming badly,
Which late hath seized all ranks and classes,
Down to that new estate 'the masses.'
- The Fudges in England (letter 4) [Society]

Yet, no--not words, for they
But half can tell love's feeling;
Sweet flowers alone can say
What passion fears revealing:
A once bright rose's wither'd leaf,
A tow'ring lily broken,--
Oh, these may paint a grief
No words could e'er have spoken.
- The Language of Flowers [Flowers]

There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet
As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet.
- The Meeting of the Waters [Nature]

Now in his Palace of the West,
Sinking to slumber, the bright Day,
Like a tired monarch fann'd to rest,
'Mid the cool airs of Evening lay;
While round his couch's golden rim
The gaudy clouds, like courtiers, crept--
Struggling each other's light to dim,
And catch his last smile e'er he slept.
- The Summer Fete (st. 22) [Sunset]

My only books
Were woman's looks,
And folly's all they've taught me.
- The Time I've Lost in Wooing [Women]

The Wreath's of brightest myrtle wove
With brilliant tears of bliss among it,
And many a rose leaf cull'd by Love
To heal his lips when bees have stung it.
- The Wreath and the Chain [Flowers]

Then awake! the heavens look bright, my dear;
'Tis never too late for delight, my dear;
And the best of all ways
To lengthen our days
Is to steal a few hours from the night, my dear.
- The Young May Moon [Night]

This world is all a fleeting show,
For man's illusion given;
The smiles of joy, the tears of woe,
Deceitful shine, deceitful flow,--
There's nothing true but Heaven.
- This World is all a Fleeting Show [World]

Those evening bells! those evening bells!
How many a tale their music tells!
- Those Evening Bells [Bells]

Never does a wilder song
Steal the breezy lyre along,
When the wind in odors dying,
Wooes it with enamor'd sighing.
- To Rosa [Wind]